Inked Skin
by Mentathial
Summary: Remus Lupin never thought he would find a soul-mate. Not after thebite,not...not after the war...but as another war approaches,willhe run or wil he fall?Thanks to premadora girl for betaing.


A/N- yes,ys,I should be upoading...but it's May 2nd...

Chapter 1  


Remus Lupin had never dreamt that this day would come. Before he was grown up enough to realize that being a werewolf meant that he would be alone and hated forever, he loved the fairy tale of soul mates and hoped that he would meet his soon. After the bite though, he realized that no one would ever want him and despite longing for his soul mate, especially when he saw James finding, recognizing and finally marrying his soul mate, he knew that it was a dream that would never come true. No, he would never endanger another that way. 

When the war ended, and with it his only family, Remus broke. At that moment he cursed his luck and his soul mate to high heavens for not being there when he needed them and yet he avoided people, not wanting to find someone and hurting them. He hated them and yet longed for that person who he hoped would help fill the void the Marauders, his brothers, his family had left. He had already lost his parents to death eaters and now his friends were gone too. Grief was not a strong enough word to describe the anguish he felt. 

At James and Lily's funeral, he wasn't a crying mess, even if his wolf wanted to howl in pain. No, he was stoic; sure that nothing could affect him anymore – when he saw her. Sirius'(no, he would not think of that traitor)little cousin. As he watched Andy and the girl step towards the grave, he saw her hair change colour and his inner academic, no matter how buried under pain, could not help but think "a Metamorphmagus, how interesting."

Little did he know, as he travelled Europe running away from the pain and loneliness the war had left him with, and gained some of his spirit, (James would not want him to remain miserable); and checked on Harry in secret, not sure how Petunia would react to him arriving on her doorstep, that his interest would come back to haunt him years later.

Remus sat with Sirius, the two of talking about the upcoming Order meeting, Harry, how much Sirius hated being confined to Grimmauld Place."This is almost as bad as Azkaban, Moony."There was the sound of the door opening, followed by a crash as the troll leg umbrella stand toppled. Both men had already drawn their wands and were pointing them at the pink haired woman on the ground when she looked up and grinned at them with a "How's my lovely mass murderer of a cousin doing, Sirius?"

Growling, the dog Animagusdid not lower his wand and neither did Remus, even if he could hear his mother's voice chiding at him for not assisting a woman, but he thought that it was better to be seen as ungentlemanly rather than being dead.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" he heard the sound of someone moving behind him and turned to cast a quick shield charm – not a moment too soon as the red light of a stupefy curse hit the transparent dome. Behind him, the dog Animaguswas firing curses at the woman who was trying to say something from behind an impressive shield which sounded suspiciously like "Mad-Eye!"

"Stop!" a voice thundered from the front door and all the four people in the front hall stopped, so that Mrs. Black's screams of "filth and half-breeds" could be heard once again. 

Turning Remus came face to face with the headmaster of Hogwarts who was eyeing the space behind Remus while answering Sirius' questions.

"Yes, Sirius, Nymphadora is with Alastor and me."

"Do not call me that, Professor!''

"Nymphadora?" Sirius asked, his wand still trained on the young woman.

"Yes, Cousin Sirius, though if you call me that I will make sure your death is as painful as possible," the now red haired girl said, giving further proof of her identity(most people knew about the MetamorphagusAuror) and glaring at something behind Remus, which the werewolf was now sure was Alastor Moody, the paranoid old Auror.

"Alastor, you should not have engaged Sirius and Remus in a fight!"Dumbeldore was saying, over Sirius' protest of how good a fight felt before the dark haired man turned to speak to his cousin.

"So what brings you here little Nymphie?" Sirius asked his cousin.

"Do not call me that name! It's Tonks and you will use that unless you want to die a painful and slow death," the woman, Nymphadora ( it feel like just yesterday that he saw her at James and Lily's funeral) said.

"Dumbledore, the boys need to be prepared. Constant vigilance! What if it were not us but Death Eaters?"

"Alastor, there will be no fights or surprises in the headquarters when we are assembling for a meeting please, especially when we bring new members."

"Albus the girl should be able to handle anything they threw at her or she is no trainee of mine!"

"Hey! I can handle myself,"the woman, Nymphadora, said.

"So what brings you here, Tonks?" Sirius tried once again.

"Same reason as you cousin, to join the Order," she replied.

"Welcome and sorry for the...um… odd reception,"Remus said, finally finding his voice in the cacophony before excusing himself to go shut the curtains on Mrs. Black's portrait. Had it been near the full moon, he would have had a raging migraine by now. How a portrait could scream so much was beyond him. By the time he returned the group was seated in the dining hall, waiting for Snape to arrive.

"I think introductions are in order," Professor Dumbledore said before pointing at the pink hairedAuror and introducing her as Nymphadora, which was followed by "Don't call me that Professor!"

"Hello. I am Remus Lupin, nice to meet you," Remus said extending a hand towards the girl when he felt a tingle insidehis heart. He kept smiling even as his heart began to race. Was this what he thought it was? No, no, no, it could not to be, he could not endanger another person like that! No, but what if it was? A soul mate? Someone who would understand him even better than his friends did, no, he was being greedy, he had wonderful friends and now he had Padfoot back, he did not need a soul mate. No, point worrying over it till he sees what the tingle is after all, but who could, no, no focus, Remus, it is a Order meeting. 

"The Weasleys, and Miss Granger will be here next week," Professor Dumbledore was saying when he was interrupted.

"What about Harry, Albus?" Sirius' tone was part longing and part concern.

"He is safe where he is and will be brought here when the time is right. He needs to be at the Dursleys, you know that Sirius," the old man said before smiling around the table. Snape as usual was wearing a sneer but had surprisingly said nothing the entire meeting and did not say anything as he left the room, followed by other members except the pink haired Auror. She leaned against the table, a woman who could be his; no don't think of that Remus, not until you are sure she is your soul mate, for all you know she might not be she probably is not, she deserves someone young and whole, he chided himself. 

"And that's my mate Moony," Sirius said, smiling at the woman and Remus' heart twisted. He was already charming her; he could see it from the way her eyes danced with laughter at his words. If Sirius...No, it's for her good, she would not want to associate with an unclean beast like him, no, Sirius was good for her.

"Moony? Some nickname for Remus huh?" she asked smiling at him. 

"What can I say Nymphie, we Marauders were creative," Sirius said, chuckling as his cousin punched him on the shoulder with a growl of,"Don't call me that Sirius!"

Smiling politely at the pair, Remus excused himself and moved towards the front door. While he could stay in Grimmauld Place, and Sirius would be ecstatic if he did stay, Remus choose to leave, if only to delay the interval between reaching his little cottage and seeing what the tingle was. His usual curiosity was buried under a sense of dread and as he apparated, he was torn between hope that he had a soul mate and the knowledge that no one would ever choose to be with him because of his condition.

Reaching the clearing, he slowly walked home, opening the door with a simple Alohomora. Walking inside what appeared to be the ruins of a hut, Remus waved his wand in a complicated manner, revealing the true interior of the cottage. Fire cackled in the hearth with another swish of his wand and soon he was merrily making a cup of his favourite tea.

Despite the slight tremble in his hands, Remus felt more at ease than he had when around Nymphadora, Moody's first student in decades. It was ridiculous, he realized, to think that someone so young and whole and vibrant and so full of life like her would be destined to be a with a penniless, dangerous and old monster like him. Even as he thought this, he recalled James and Lily, as at first it seemed theirs was a case of mistake by the universe as never seen before. Lily seemed to hate James and James; he knew she was the one for him, even before he had seen his mark. Remus had once wondered if it was because the mere idea of being with Severus disgusted him but James had thrown him off with the answer, he had said that from the moment Lily had entered the compartment in the train, he had fallen in love. He loved the way she stood up for Snape, even if he hated the git, and he had said that if Severus would have been his soul mate, that would not have changed the fact that he, James Potter, loved Lily. Who said that your soul mate had to be the one you would love? In fact, James had been the one to support Sirius, when he decided to date Gibbon Prewett instead of Alice

That had been one of the many things that had drawn Lily to his friend. He was a romantic yet he believed that your soul mate was someone who understood you completely, but that soul mate did not have to be the one you fell for, that friendship is just as strong as love.

Smiling at the thought of his friends, oh how he wished they were here; watching their son grow, Remus made his way towards his bedroom. He was no longer scared, even if she was his soul mate, it did not mean he had to force his presence on her. Smiling, he recalled the first time the boys had seen James' mark. Where they had expected something like "arrogant toe-rag" (could they be blamed? That's what Lily called James most of the time), they were shocked to see the words, "oh my! He looks like he just stepped out of my imagination."

Of course, they didn't know the words were Lily's and many had often told James to leave Lily and try to find his soul mate, but James had known. He did not care who it was and he knew it had to be wither Lily or Severus, the latter who had no mark. Heavens knows, how much James had teased her about the words after he had confirmed they were hers.

Taking off his shirt, Remus' eyes were drawn to his collarbone and there, they were, the words leading to his heart "He is so polite, unlike…"

A/N- SO I did want it to be a one-shot and I think it is a cute ending here, but if reviews come I will continue it. Think I should continue it?

Remus Lupin had never dreamt that this day would come. Before he was bitten, he loved the fairy tale of soul mates and hoped that he would meet his soon. After the bite though, he realized that no one would ever want him and despite longing for his soul mate, especially when he saw James finding, recognizing and finally marrying his soul mate, he knew that it was a dream that would never come true. No, he would never endanger another that way. 

When the war ended, and with it his only family, Remus broke. At that moment he cursed his luck and his soul mate to high heavens for not being there when he needed them and yet he avoided people, not wanting to find someone and hurting them. He hated them and yet longed for that person who he hoped would help fill the void the Marauders, his brothers, his family had left. He had already lost his parents to death eaters and now his friends were gone too. Grief was not a strong enough word to describe the anguish he felt. 

At James and Lily's funeral he wasn't a crying mess, even if his wolf wanted to howl in pain. No he was stoic; sure that nothing could affect him anymore – when he saw her. Sirius',(no, he would not think of that traitor),Black's little cousin. As he watched Andy and the girl step towards the grave, he saw her hair change colour and his inner academic, no matter how buried under pain, could not help but think "a metamorphagusMetamorphmagus, how interesting."

Little did he know, as he travelled Europe and gained some of his spirit, James would not want him to remain miserable; and checked on Harry in secret, not sure how Petunia would react to him arriving on her doorstep, that those words would come back to haunt him years later.

Remus sat with Sirius, the two of talking about the upcoming Order meeting, Harry, how much Sirius hated being confined to Grimmauld Place.;"this This is almost as bad as Azkaban, Moony."and Harry when tThere was the sound of the door opening, followed by a crash as the troll leg umbrella stand toppled. Both men had already drawn their wands and were pointing them at the pink haired woman on the ground when she looked up and grinned at them with a "Hhow's my lovely mass murderer of a cousin doing, Sirius?"

Despite giving a bark like laugh, the dog animagus Animagusdid not lower his wand and neither did Remus, even if he could hear his mother's voice chiding at him for not assisting a woman, but he thought that it was better to be seen as ungentlemanly rather than being dead.

"Who are you and how did you get here?" he growled.when hHe heard the sound of someone moving behind him and turned toing cast a quick shield charm –, not a moment too soon as the red light of a stupefy curse hit the transparent dome. Behind him, the dog animagus Animaguswas firing curses at the woman who was trying to say something from behind an impressive shield which sounded suspiciously like "Mad-Eye!"

"Stop!" a voice thundered from the front door and all the four people in the front hall stopped, so that Mrs. Black's screams of "filth and half-breeds" could be heard once again. 

Turning Remus came face to face with the headmaster of Hogwarts who was eyeing the space behind Remus while answering Sirius' questions.

"Yes, Sirius, Nymphadora is with Alastor and me."

"Do not call me that, Professor!''

"Nymphadora?" Sirius asked, his wand still trained on the young woman.

"Yes, Cousin Sirius, though if you call me that I will make sure your death is as painful as possible," the now red haired girl said, giving further proof of her identity(most people knew about the metamorphagus MetamorphagusaurorAuror) and glaring at something behind Remus, which the werewolf was now sure was Alastor Moody, the paranoid old aurorAuror.

"Alastor, you should not have engaged Sirius and Remus in a fight!"Dumbeldore was saying, over Sirius' protest of how good a fight felt before the dark haired man turned to speak to his cousin.

"So what brings you here little Nymphie?"

"Do not call me that name! It's Tonks and you will use that unless you want to die a painful and slow death."

"Dumbledore, the boys need to be prepared. Constant vigilance! What if it were not us but Ddeath eatersEaters?"

"Alastor, there will be no fights or surprises in the headquarters when we are assembling for a meeting please, especially when we bring new members."

"Albus the girl should be able to handle anything they threw at her or she is no trainee of mine!"

"Hey! I can handle myself."

"So what brings you here, Tonks?"

"Same reason as you cousin, to join the Order."

"Welcome and sorry for the...um… odd reception,"Remus said, finally finding his voice in the cacophony before excusing himself to go shut the curtains on Mrs. Black's portrait. Had it been near the full moon, he would have had a raging migraine by now. How a portrait could scream so much was beyond him. By the time, he returned the group was seated in the dining hall, waiting for Snape to arrive.

"I think introductions are in order," Professor Dumbledore said before pointing at the pink haired aAuror and introducing her as Nymphadora, which was followed by "Don't call me that Professor!"

"Hello. I am Remus Lupin, nice to meet you," Remus said extending a hand towards the girl when he felt a tingle along insidehis heart. He kept smiling even as his heart began to race. Was this what he thought it was? No, no, no, it could not to be, he could not endanger another person like that! No, but what if it was? A soul mate? Someone who would understand him even better than his friends did, no, he was being greedy, he had wonderful friends and now he had Padfoot back, he did not need a soul mate. No, point worrying over it till he sees what the tingle is after all, but who could, no, no focus, Remus, it is a Oorder meeting.

"New members, the Weasleys and Miss Granger will be here next week," Professor Dumbledore was saying when he was interrupted.

"What about Harry, Albus?" Sirius' tone was part longing and part concern.

"He is safe where he is and will be brought here when the time is right. He needs to be at the Dursleys, you know that Sirius," the old man said before smiling around the table. Snape as usual was wearing a sneer but had surprisingly said nothing the entire meeting and did not say anything as he left the room, followed by other members except the pink haired aAuror. She leaned against the table, a woman who could be his; no don't think of that Remus, not until you are sure, he chided himself.

"And that's my mate Moony," Sirius said, smiling at the woman and Remus' heart twisted. He was already charming her; he could see it from the way her eyes danced with laughter at his words. If Sirius...No, it's for her good, she would not want to associate with an unclean beast like him, no, Sirius was good for her.

"Moony? Some nickname for Remus huh?" she asked smiling at him. 

"What can I say Nymphie, we Marauders were creative," Sirius said, chuckling as his cousin punched him on the shoulder with a growl of,"Ddon't call me that Sirius!"

Smiling politely at the pair, Remus excused himself and moved towards the front door. While, he could stay in Grimmuauld Place, and Sirius would be ecstatic if he did stay, Remus choose to leave, if only to delay the interval between reaching his little cottage and seeing what the tingle was. His usual curiosity was buried under a sense of dread and as he apparated, he was torn between hope that he had a soul mate and the knowledge that no one would ever choose to be with him because of his condition.

Reaching the clearing, he slowly walked home, opening the door with a simple Alohoomora. Walking inside what appeared to be the ruins of a hut, Remus waved his wand in a complicated manner, revealing the true interior of the cottage. Fire cackled in the hearth with another swish of his wand and soon he was merrily making a cup of his favourite tea.

Feb 17Despite the slight tremble in his hands, Remus felt more at ease than he had when around Nymphadora, Mooddy's first student in decades. It was ridiculous, he realized, to think that someone so young and whole and vibrant and so full of life, like her would be destined to be a with a penniless, dangerous and old monster like him. Even as he thought this, he recalled James and Lily, as at first it seemed theirs was a case of mistake by the universe as never seen before. Lily seemed to hate James and James; he knew she was the one for him, even before he had seen his mark. Remus had once wondered if it was because the mere idea of being with Severus disgusted him or because he truly knew but James had thrown him off with the answer, he had said that from the moment Lily had entered the compartment in the train, he had fallen in love. He loved the way she stood up for Snape, even if he hated the git, and he had said that if Severus would have been his soul mate, that would not have changed the fact that he, James Potter, loved Lily. Who said that your soul mate had to be the one you would love? In fact, James had been the one to support Sirius, when he decided to date Gibbon Prewett instead of Alice. 

That had been one of the many things that had drawn Lily to his friend. He was a romantic yet he believed that your soul mate was someone who understood you completely, but that soul mate did not have to be the one you fell for, that friendship is just as strong as love.

Smiling at the thought of his friends, oh how he wished they were here; watching their son grow, Remus made his way towards his bedroom. He was no longer scared, even if she was his soul mate, it did not mean he had to force his presence on her. Smiling, he recalled the first time the boys had seen James' mark. Where they had expected something like "arrogant toe-rag" (could they be blamed? That's what Lily called James most of the time), they were shocked to see the words, "oh my! He looks like he just stepped out of my imagination."

Of course, they didn't know the words were Lily's and many had often told James to leave Lily and try to find his soul mate, but James had known. He did not care who it was and he knew it had to be wither Lily or Severus, the latter who had no mark. Heavens knows, how much James had teased her about the words after he had confirmed they were hers.

Taking off his shirt, Remus' eyes were drawn to his collarbone and there, they were, the words leading to his heart "He is so polite, unlike…"

A/N- SO I did want it to be a one-shot and I think it is a cute ending here, but if reviews come I will continue it. Think I should continue it?


End file.
